CNET sued over LimeWire, blamed for “Internet Piracy Phenomenon”

CBS subsidiary CNET has provided more than 17 million downloads of LimeWire, …

Alki David, the wealthy film producer and entrepreneur behind sites like FilmOn, announced last year in a YouTube video that he intended to sue CNET and its owner, CBS, for providing hundreds of millions of downloads of LimeWire P2P software over the last decade. Today, he made good on his threat, rounding up some rap and R&B musicians to join his case.

The plaintiffs argue that CNET had "direct participation in massive copyright infringement on peer-to-peer systems, such as LimeWire, that are used to copy and distribute songs, films and other artistic works," and that CNET's Download.com was the "main distributor" of the software. P2P software isn't illegal, though companies that use it to induce or encourage copyright infringement can be held liable. The principle, most famously articulated by the US Supreme Court in the Grokster shutdown, was extended to LimeWire last year when a federal judge shut down most of the company's activity.

"CNET provided the guns"

The plaintiffs contend that CNET encouraged people to use LimeWire to violate copyright. One of the plaintiffs, Mike Mozart, has spent the last year collecting alleged examples of this; it's an odd mix of material that spans a decade and multiple sites from ZDNET to CNET. He complains, for instance, that in 2007 CNET editors printed a "spyware horror story" from a woman who had downloaded a cracked copy of Dreamweaver using P2P software. The woman ends her note by explaining that she has now turned to legal software, and the editorial response says, "We're glad you've gone legit, Emily. Many freeware alternatives are available to satisfy the software sweet tooth, and they are almost all a safer bet than poached serial codes and keygens." Other comments, especially those from a decade ago, more clearly imply that the P2P software being recommended is used largely to share copyrighted music.

Alki David in a 2010 video rant against CBS and CNET

"ANY Criticism of my research by CNET must answer this following question: Did CNET earn ANY income from any of these sales of P2P File Sharing Software Downloads?" asks Mozart, who has an affinity for capital letters and exclamation points that might well need treatment. "My Conclusion? The Internet Piracy Phenomenon was fueled in large part, by the distribution of the P2P software by CNET."

He continues:

Would gun sellers enjoy "Freedom of Press" protections if they offered catalogs demonstrating the ease of use of the Handguns being Sold for engaging in criminal activities such as robbing stores or banks. Then offering Solutions to specifically cover up your crime.

CNET provided the "Guns", the P2P Software, and the encouragement to commit "Robbery", here, the online file sharing of known copyrighted works.

As for Alki David, he's just as agitated. Last year, when he announced his CBSYouSuck campaign, he said that the "duplicity of CBS beggars belief." CBS, as a major media company, "finds itself publicly exposed as an irresponsible hypocrite, that has ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the creative community and created copyright infringement damages into the trillions of dollars."

Today, David announced that he would seek more artists for his lawsuit, pledging that "it will become the most significant copyright infringement lawsuit in history."

The entire case is bizarre mishmash of conflicting loyalties. David, for instance, is outraged at the rampant copyright infringement over P2P software—even as he started FilmOn, which rebroadcast over-the-air TV signals on the Internet and was shut down by a federal judge's injunction. And CBS, the alleged home of P2P piracy, is one of the world's great media companies, producing TV shows, books, and more.

As for LimeWire, a judge ordered its website shut down last year and the company will soon face a trial on damages for copyright infringement. LimeWire is also a defendant in the case along with CBS/CNET.

LimeWire is no longer available from Download.com, and an editor's note says, "Using P2P and file-sharing software to distribute copyrighted material without authorization is illegal in the United States and many other countries. CBS Interactive does not encourage or condone the illegal duplication or distribution of copyrighted content."